About CTC:

• Colorectal Cancer begins as polyps on colon/rectum lining; can become cancerous and spread to other body parts.

• CTC Screening Recommendation starts at age 45; ACS suggests regular screening until 85. Over 4000 veteran cases annually; 1.5 million colonoscopies needed. CTC not common in VA or rural settings.

• Some current CRC Screening Methods include:

  • Stool tests: FOBT, FIT, mt-sDNA (Cologuard)

  • Optical colonoscopy (OC): Direct inspection with an endoscope

  • Computed tomography colonography (CTC): CT scan-based visualization

• USPSTF Guidelines read that adults aged 50-75 should be screened; recently lowered to 45. CTC shows high accuracy, but OC is more invasive and costly.

• Our hypothesis was that synchronizing CTC and OC could improve CRC combat, especially in rural/socioeconomically disadvantaged areas with CT access but limited CTC expertise. State-of-the-art CTC offers high sensitivity and specificity for polyps ≥ 0.5 mm, viable for local and cloud-based analysis.

• Enabling large volume CTC screening​

• Fusion of CTC and Optical Colonoscopy Findings​

• Study of uncertainties in CTC prep (e.g., low dose, disconnected colons, prep deficits, etc.​

• Coordinate CTC and Optical Colonoscopy, especially for remote and rural areas, where CT scans are available but skilled CTC readers are not, and gastroenterologists are overbooked. ​

• Integrate tele-health procedures with CTC; enables CTC online and secure servers.​